The James O. Stephens Building

When the railroad made Ogden's 25th Street the busiest three blocks in Utah, the Stephens family built a row of storefronts here to catch the trade; this one went up around 1888, briefly home to a fruit store and a photographer. But the block's real reputation came later: from 1906 to 1912 the building belonged to Dora Belle Topham — "Belle London," the most notorious madam in the state — who let "nicely furnished rooms" upstairs. That was 25th Street in a sentence: respectable commerce on the ground floor, the red-light trade just above it.

What the plaque says

This building was constructed circa. 1888 by James O. Stephens and was one of several buildings constructed during this time period by members of the Stephens Family on the north side of the 200 Block of 25th Street. Members of the Stephens Family owned the building until 1895, when it was sold to the Eccles Lumber Company. The building was owned by the infamous 25th Street 'Madam', Dora Belle Topham from 1906 until 1912. Other owners included Utah Mercantile, Land and Livestock Investment Company, Arcadia Land and Livestock Company, James Ballard, and Malan-Wheelwright Investment Company. The building is currently owned by Douglas J. and Peggy S. Holmes (1994). The earliest businesses known to occupy the building include the John Maddy Fruit Store and J. W. Stephens, photographer. Madam Topham operated 'Nicely Furnished Rooms' on the second story of the building during the time of her ownership. The first long-term business to occupy the building was June W. Clark, a druggist, who also sold books, stationery, and cigars between the 1910s and 1930s. Later businesses included the Night Hawk Cafe, Grand Cafe, and Great Wall Cafe. Panache Interiors and Antiques Inc. opened in 1987. The first story of this two-story brick structure includes a new storefront which replicates elements of the original, with a recessed center doorway and display windows on either side. A recessed entrance on the right-hand side of the storefront provides access to the second level. Three arch window openings are of the double-hung, one-over-one style. A decorative brick corbeling with angled soldier course provides the cornice line for the top of the facade.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Ogden Union Station — steps away
  A grand 1924 train depot turned museum complex
• Snowbasin — 6.1 mi
  One of the country's oldest ski areas and a 2002 Olympic downhill venue — world-class terrain that somehow still skis uncrowded.
• Hill Aerospace Museum — 7.2 mi
  Over 90 military aircraft displayed indoors and on the tarmac
• Powder Mountain — 15 mi
  The largest ski resort in the United States by acreage — a famously uncrowded "PowMow" now remaking itself under Netflix's Reed Hastings.

More markers nearby

• Porter Block — steps away
• Creston Hotel, Grand Pacific Restaurant — steps away
• The Solomon C. Stephens Building — steps away
• Lower 25th Street Historic District — steps away